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| Rachael Ray’s Yum-o! Organization and the NRAEF Award $50,000 in Scholarships | |||||
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Five students receive $10,000 scholarships at a star-studded event featuring President Bill Clinton (Chicago, Ill.) —Rachael Ray’s Yum-o! organization and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) have teamed up to award scholarships to students pursuing a college education in a restaurant or foodservice course of study. On Monday, April 28th, five teenage chefs participated in a once-in-a-lifetime event – they opened their own restaurant, designed the menu and prepared a full dinner service for an exclusive group of patrons, including President Bill Clinton. What they didn’t know was at the end of their unbelievable day they would also be each awarded with a $10,000 scholarship to apply to their college tuition. Their entire day, and their surprise scholarship presentation, will be featured in a special episode of Rachael Ray airing on Wednesday, May 7, 2008. The five exceptional students (including one ProStart student) who were awarded scholarships are:
Their pop-up restaurant, Café Una Notte (Café One Night), was the setting of an exclusive 70 guest dinner that was prepared entirely by the five students under the guidance of Ray and Food Network Iron Chef Michael Symon. Throughout the day, they learned about all that goes into opening a restaurant space – from design to décor. They also created a special menu from scratch and prepared it for guests at the April 28th event. Dawn Sweeney, president, National Restaurant Association, and Linda Bacin, Vice Chairman, NRAEF, were on hand at the exclusive meal which also featured entertainment by Carly Simon and dinner guests Bobby Flay, Mario Batali and Larry King. “I cannot express what a wonderful opportunity this is for these five dedicated students. We at the National Restaurant Association and NRAEF are honored to be a part of this event and look forward to enhancing our relationship with the Yum-o! Organization and the good work it is doing for the industry,” said Bacin. In 2007, the NRAEF began working with Yum-o! to award scholarships to students pursuing an undergraduate degree in restaurant and foodservice management, culinary arts or hospitality in accordance with the NRAEF’s criteria. The Yum-o! organization has contributed more than $70,000 in scholarship donations since the partnership’s inception. The NRAEF’s Scholarships Program awards $1.7 million annually to high school and undergraduate students and educators committed to furthering their education or professional development in restaurant and foodservice management. The restaurant and foodservice industry is one of the largest employers in the U.S. with 13.1 million employees, and an additional 2 million positions will be added over the next decade. And the NRAEF’s programs have proven successful at recruiting and training the workforce needed to meet the industry’s growth -- 81 percent of students who have received an NRAEF scholarship are still studying and/or working in the industry. For more information on the NRAEF’s Scholarships Program, visit www.nraef.org/scholarships. To download photos from the event, visit www.nraef.org/headline/photos_schol_2008.asp. ### About the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation Yum-o! is Rachael Ray's nonprofit organization that empowers kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking. By providing the tools to create easy, affordable and delicious meals, Yum-o! is changing the way America eats. Yum-o!'s three work areas include educating kids and their families about cooking, feeding hungry American kids and funding cooking education and scholarships. For more information about the Yum-o! organization, please visit www.yum-o.org. About Rachael Ray Rachael Ray is the author of more than a dozen cookbooks, including Just in Time and Rachael Ray 2-4-6-8: Cooking for Couples or Crowds, and host of the wildly popular "30 Minute Meals" and "Tasty Travels" shows on the Food Network. She is also the Editor-In-Chief of her own food and lifestyle magazine, Every Day With Rachael Ray. Additionally, Ray has a line of knives, cookware and bedding. In September 2006, "Rachael Ray," a nationally syndicated daytime show produced by CBS Television Distribution and Harpo Productions, launched as the highest rated syndicated show launch since 2002. |
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